If you didn’t know, in the typography world, fonts like Comic Sans are a funny joke.
Why, though?
Fonts play an integral role in our advertisement, entertainment, and professional industries. If you’re hoping to learn more about why fonts matter and how they trigger moods, this read is for you.
Fonts Matter To Us All
From Comic Sans to Helvetica, fonts have always mattered.
They’re not just about tone or readability, but they carry a deep stylistic aesthetic that can help words rise above, or crumble in forgotten dust.
Fonts Can Make You Happy…or Sad
Did you know that?
Have you ever felt different after reading something, but it wasn’t because of what it said but how it looked?
Back in 1933, researchers, Poffenberger and Barrows’s Handbook of Consumer Psychology reveals a study on why this phenomenon happened. They found that the eye traces lines (think of an N, up, down-slant, up) and that tracing is then correlational to body language. The mind then communicates that body language to emotions, thus shaping how we feel in a relationship with words.
Crazy, right?
This is why certain fonts have the capacity to make something feel humorous, or professional, or even joyful.
Fonts Matter For Identity
A small scale taco truck is a lot different than a large scale law firm, right?
Where there’s common sense, there’s also a reason behind it a few rules that can get manipulated if you know what you’re doing, when it comes to fonts.
For a taco truck, someone might want to pick a fun, playful font because they want to showcase that type of identity. But something they might not consider is how a clean, crisp font could encapsulate both the taco-themes and a hidden layer of prestige.
That prestige layer might be what people connect with, and find themselves sharing with others as well. Or it could be a layer of humor or wit. Those clever choices are up to you!
Just remember, fonts possess the unique ability to make people think about their own identity, as they read about something else.
Fonts Matter For Readability
Another no-brainer, right?
Wrong.
Where something is readable in one moment, it might not be in the next. This can then shape how a person encounters an experience. One example is the United States Highway Road Sign debate.
But when it comes to your personal products, understand how reliability shapes a mood. If something is simple and comes across in an average size 12 Times New Roman, it doesn’t make your words stand out in any sort of way.
But if they are in an unreadable font, people will feel displaced or distant from what they’re reading.
Finding a font that is both readable, but unique and interesting to look at is key. This makes people want to read more and can give a feeling of satisfaction as they do.
More Fonts and Feels
We hope you this read on why fonts matter has taught you some useful information! For more content, check out our blog page where we’re always posting.
If you don’t see something there or want more on a topic you read about, feel free to reach out and contact us. We’re here to help ignite your creativity!